At the Sixth Sitting of the Students’ Parliament in the 2005-06 academic year, held in the Great Chamber of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, students of the Ninth of May Law and Office Management Secondary School adopted a new set of Rules of Procedure for the Students’ Parliament.

The new Rules of Procedure were presented by the chairman of the Students’ Parliament, Ivan Ninic; the students were welcomed by the National Assembly Chairman, Predrag Markovic, and Secretary, Marko Danilovic.

Hailing the adoption of the Rules of Procedure, Mr Markovic underlined the importance of such a document for the functioning and planning of activities of any Parliament. The Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia were highly rated by European institutions, and contributed, together with heightened awareness on the part of deputies, to making the National Assembly more efficient.

‘You have unanimously voted your Rules of Procedure into being; they, however, will not apply to you at all. You will finish your schooling, and be students no more, but there will be other students. You have passed something that is important for the functioning of future students’ parliaments, and that is what you have to bear in mind. All responsible deputies to the National Assembly must consider similar issues, as it is not important what a law means to a deputy, but rather what it regulates, and what it means for the lives of ordinary members of the public’, Mr Markovic said. He thanked all members of students’ parliaments, since, as he put it, they were taking those duties seriously. ‘From my point of view, you are playing at parliament: no insult is intended; it is charming that you should play like this, and through such games learn about democracy, which you will have to take responsibility for after we have gone’.

The National Assembly Secretary, Marko Danilovic, expressed pleasure at being able to meet the students’ request to use the electronic voting system. The Assembly’s Support Service provided each student with a smart card bearing their name, while Mr Ninic received assistance in preparing for the session.

The students and their teachers, who also attended the sitting, were shown a film about the National Assembly’s activities, after which cocktails were served.